What an Aerobic Septic Inspection Includes, How Often It’s Required, and What Inspectors Are Looking For. If you’re wondering: “What in included in an aerobic septic system inspection” read on.
Quick Summary:
Show summary
- An aerobic septic inspection checks whether your system is treating wastewater properly and operating as designed
- Technicians inspect key components like the air compressor, control panel, pumps, floats, and alarms
- Solid levels are measured inside each tank to determine system health and pumping needs
- Chlorine levels are checked to ensure treated water is properly disinfected before discharge
- Drip systems and spray fields are visually inspected for signs of over-saturation or poor absorption
- Routine inspections catch small issues early, helping prevent alarms, emergencies, and costly repairs
Article:
What Are They Actually Checking During an Aerobic Septic Inspection?
During a standard aerobic septic system inspection, our technicians are answering 3 basic questions:
- Is the system treating waste water properly?
- Are all of the mechanical & electrical components working like they should?
- Is anything going on that could lead to problems in the future?
Here is a breakdown of our aerobic septic inspection process from start to finish:
Cleaning the air compressor filter
Aerobic systems rely on AIR to work properly. That means each one of these systems is equipped with an air compressor that pumps air into the second septic chamber (the aeration tank). Cleaning & inspecting the air compressor is one of the first things we do upon arrival because without the air compressor… this system is no longer an aerobic septic system.
Think of regularly cleaning the air compressor filter like rotating your tires… It has to be done or things are going to get out of whack. That air compressor is running 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If something goes wrong here, your entire system will feel it.
Verifying Control Panel Settings
Air pressure is one of the most important indicators of whether an aerobic septic system is treating wastewater properly. These systems rely on a steady supply of air to introduce oxygen into the treatment process, which helps bacteria break down waste efficiently. Checking air pressure at the control panel confirms that the air compressor is working.. When air pressure is within the proper range, treatment stays stable, odors are controlled, and solids are less likely to move where they shouldn’t.
Low pressure can indicate a failing compressor, clogged filters, or blocked air lines, while high pressure may signal restrictions or improper airflow. Without a regular inspection, these are the types of small problems that over time create catastrophic system failures… Checking air pressure at the control panel helps our techs fix these problems early—before they turn into costly repairs.
Measuring solid levels in your septic tank
This is one of the nastier parts of the job, but also incredibly necessary. In fact, without a direct solid levels measurement, there is no way to determine how soon you may need a full pump out. This measurement may be the most important part of our entire inspection as solids are the septic tank killer. A high solid count means your entire system is working on overdrive, your filters are getting clogged quicker, the pipes are getting build up, and you may not ever know it.
Here is an example of a solids measurement. Disgusting… I know. But this is a real time reliable measurement of exactly what’s happening in your tanks. We take solid measurements of all 4 chambers within your septic system starting with your waste tank that is directly hooked up to your home. We expect to see lots of solids in your waste tank, and a decreasing amount with each sample taken from the downstream tanks. This is how we keep a constant pulse on the health of your system, and when you need a pump out.
The Luna Way – We take pictures to document everything we do on site. From existing damage, to before and after inspection photos, we keep a record of everything. This is how our techs are able to show up knowing everything they need to know about your system’s history.
Testing pumps, floats, and alarm functions
Every aerobic septic system comes with a long pump in the final pump tank that reaches from top to bottom. This pump has 3 “floats” attached to it that monitor water levels. When the water levels rise, the floats rise, when the water level falls, the floats fall. These floats activate your septic system’s alarm. They are responsible for letting you know when the water levels are too high – Meaning something is wrong with the system because the waste water is not being pumped out correctly.
During an aerobic septic system inspection, our technicians test each float to ensure it is setting off the alarms properly. We are also cleaning the mesh filter that sits at the bottom of this waste tank pump as it’s almost always in need of some cleaning.
This image shows a damaged pump float with the lower portion of the plastic missing. When a float fails like this, the pump may never activate, allowing water levels to rise without triggering an alarm. Because we found this immediately during a routine inspection, it was repaired immediately for under $100—preventing a much more costly system failure. This is why we do what we do.
Checking the chlorine – What most septic techs miss…
Chlorine is checked during an aerobic septic inspection because it serves as the final disinfection step before treated wastewater goes into the environment. By the time water reaches this stage, it has already been treated inside the system, but chlorine is what helps kill remaining bacteria and ensures the discharge is safe. During an inspection, technicians verify that chlorine tablets are present, dissolving properly, and being introduced into the treated water as intended.
Low or missing chlorine doesn’t trigger an alarm, which is why it’s commonly overlooked without routine inspections. When chlorine levels drop too low, spray systems can release water that isn’t fully disinfected (GROSS) , creating potential health and compliance issues. Regular inspections catch this early and allow us to fix this easily.
How we check your drip system and spray field
During the final part of our inspection we check your drip/spray fields. Ideally, this part is easy, and when we look at the area of your yard that serves as the drip field, we don’t see anything.
We just want to see a normal yard. Sometimes however, we can easily see big puddles forming on the surface, bad smells, or even really green grass that is ONLY growing over the drip field.
What does this mean?
Generally, this is a sign that your system is discharging too much waste water too quickly. That means the soil doesn’t have time to absorb it all, and the ground is naturally oversaturated.
Often this problem is obvious even to our home owners, and it doesn’t take a quarterly inspection to figure out something is wrong.
Below are just a few examples of our on site photo documentation. This is how we keep your system in
tip top shape:
On this Page
- What Are They Actually Checking During an Aerobic Septic Inspection?
- Cleaning the air compressor filter
- Verifying Control Panel Settings
- Measuring solid levels in your septic tank
- Testing pumps, floats, and alarm functions
- Checking the chlorine - What most septic techs miss
- How we check your drip system and spray field
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